Anchor: President Moon Jae-in is in Paris for some summit diplomacy, and to make the case for his vision of Korean Peninsula peace. Moon's call to reward North Korea for its denuclearization intentions remains in stark contrast to Washington's firm approach to maintaining sanctions.
Kurt Achin has this report.
Report: President Moon tells France's Le Figaro newspaper North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "sincere" and that Kim is getting "frustrated by the international community's continued mistrust."
The South Korean president is on a four day visit to France, including a Monday summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.
In the Figaro interview, Moon says he has spent many hours in deep discussion with the North Korean leader, and is convinced Kim has made a strategic decision to abandon nuclear weapons.
He says the United States should take "corresponding measures" to guarantee North Korea's security, including a declaration formally ending the Korean War. Those measures, says Moon, will yield more steps by North Korea down the denuclearization path, paving the way for sanctions on the North to be eased.
China and Russia have already raised their voices in support of an easing of United Nations sanctions against North Korea at the UN Security Council, saying a "review" of the sanctions may soon be necessary.
So far, the Trump administration has not budged, saying more concrete steps are needed from the North first, possibly including a declaration of the North's nuclear inventory and capabilities and a timetable for a verified disarmament process.
Washington's tone toward North Korea varies at different levels of government.
In a weekend television interview with the U.S. program 60 Minutes on CBS, President Donald Trump said of the North Korean leader "I trust him...I like him. We have a good relationship."
However, the U.S. president pointed out that sanctions have not been eased.
The U.S. Treasury Department, for its part, is stiffening enforcement of U.S. unilateral sanctions aimed at choking off the North's weapons financing.
Earlier this month, the Treasury phoned South Korean banks and warned them "not to get ahead of themselves" on sanctions, and that financial dealings with the North could lead to being placed on a U.S. blacklist.
And reports are surfacing in South Korean media which highlight updated language on the U.S. Treasury department website warning of possible secondary sanctions targeting entities or individuals seen as having inappropriate transactions with Pyongyang.
The results of Monday's Paris summit could be an early indicator of whether Europe will lean towards a softer North Korea approach favored by China, Russia, and the Moon administration-- or, whether it will stand firm with Washington on the issue of denuclearization.
Kurt Achin, KBS World Radio News.